To completely focus on, and to understand the meaning of what another is saying (even not saying). To know the real needs that are being expressed. To then to hold an intention to act in a way that supports those perhaps unspoken needs and underneath to also to do the very same for yourself are examples of how mindful listening plays out our lives as a personal leader.
One way to develop the skill of mindful listening is to first heighten your own ability to listen to your own internal experience of what your senses observe. Then from there, you can go on to develop your own intuition, listening for that “gut” body reaction, listening for the strong sure voice of knowing that is within you.
So often though, these messages get shut out from our natural listening. The opportunity is to get better as a listener.
Here is a great exercise to expand your capacity to listen:
Go for a 30Minute walk out down the street in your neighborhood. (Take a friend along for fun)
For the 1st 10 minutes – only pay attention and listen to only that which is within 2 ft of your body. This might seem at first like a strange suggestion…and yet, you might be amazed you do have the capacity to only pay attention to these things within the 2 foot radius and to shut out everything else. Can you hear the shuffle of your feet on the pavement surface?, or the rustle of your jacket?, or of your breathing?
For the 2nd 10 minutes – extend your listening area to 30-40 feet beyond that of your body. You may then begin to notice the footsteps of your friend, their breathing, perhaps the cars on the road, the beeping of a cross walk, a bird in a tree, other people around you etc, all that in addition to you the closer things you could hear in the 1st 10minutes
For the 3rd 10 minutes: extend your listening area even further out to as far as you can see and even beyond and notice what you do notice then. A plane in the sky? Birds, traffic, people? Sirens? You will be amazed at just how much you can hear. Most people find this 3rd perspective quite amazingly intense. Like having a radio on at full blast; almost too much sound to listen to.
At the end of your walk – readjust your listening distance to what is most comfortable for you. Do this type of walk again out in nature and it can be a spiritual experience. To feel so much more connected with nature.
The truth is we often diminish our capacity to listen – just so we can avoid being overwhelmed by it. Being mindful of this however brings in the possibility of using our natural gifts for being able to listen in a flexible way, appropriately chosen in the moment.
When you become mindful of the art of listening – you can then begin to tune in to your own messages that come from within you. Your own inner guidance system if you will. When you become mindful – you will discover exactly from where it originates. People have lots of different ways of describing it – so everyone is individual in this way. The label we give it isn’t so much as important as the fact we have a trusted way of accessing our capacity to listen, listen for what is true and not true, listen for the true meaning of things for those things that are truly important..
When you become mindful at the art of mindful listening you also get to understand things more fully, you can almost hear the unspoken needs of people you have relationships with, of your community and even of humanity.
You might also want to read some other posts related to listening. click here
